8 ex-Indian Navy men in Qatari custody,Delhi sent official to Doha, no breakthrough so far

Delhi dispatched a senior official to Doha to lend weight to its embassy’s efforts to secure the release of eight former Indian Navy personnel who have been in Qatari custody since August-end.

With the eight men still not free — Tuesday marked 71 days in custody — more appeals have surfaced on social media, asking the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers to speed up efforts for their release.

The appeals point to growing concern among family members that Delhi has still not been able to secure their release.

Over the last 10 days, the government has been in negotiations with the Qatar government, but there’s no word yet of any breakthrough.

Last week, it seemed there were some indications including the grant of a second consular visit — the first visit was last month — that the men might be released within days, but this hope was belied.

Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, the company at which the eight were employed, was training the Qatari Emiri Navy and providing other services such as logistics and equipment maintenance.

The Indian embassy in Doha became aware of the arrest of the eight in mid-September, about two weeks after they were picked on August 30 by the State Security Bureau, Qatar’s intelligence agency.

At the end of



September, the men were allowed to speak to their families on the phone. On October 3, the men were granted consular access — a visit by an official of the embassy. A second consular access was granted in the first week of November.

There is no information yet about the charges against the men. All eight are said to be in solitary confinement, which is unusual punishment, reserved usually for security-related offences.

Doha has jailed Indians in the past, and deported them for various offences. But this particular case has taken Delhi by surprise as it has friendly relations with Doha. The two countries have conducted joint naval exercises.

In the circumstances, the jailing of defence personnel, even if retired and in private employment, and that too a group, is unusual.

A couple of the officers retired from the Navy in the rank of captain, some as commanders. One was a sailor. All had been with the company for 4-6 years. Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retd), the MD of the company, is a recipient of the Pravasi Bharat Samman in 2019.

Owned by a retired Omani Air Force officer, the company was well known to officials of the Indian embassy in Doha. The current ambassador and his predecessor have visited its facilities, and praised and endorsed its work as strengthening relations between India and Qatar.